Bunion easer and toe straightener



March 7, 1950 R. L. MOGLUMPHY 2,499,768

' BUNION EASERUAND TOE STRAIGHTENER Filed Dec. 3, 1948 mmvrox. em PH 1.. MGZ UMPf/X ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 7, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUNION EASER AND TOE STRAIGHTENER Ralph L. McGlumphy, Kankakee, Ill.

Application December 3, 1948, Serial No. 63,371

3 Claims. (01. 128-81) This invention relates to an orthopedic appliance designed primarily as a bunion-easing device and toe straightener.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device of the kind to be more particularly described hereinafter, which is adapted to remove the pressure and relieve the friction of a shoe on a bunion or enlarged great toe joint. The device, When applied and in use, tends to preserve the original shape of the shoe and conceal the deformity of the bunion or enlarged joint.

Another object of this invention is to provide a light weight device of this kind which will prevent toes from doubling one over the other and tends to straighten the great toe from a distorted position. The device of this invention will replace the toes into their natural and normal positions, thereby preventing soft corns between the great toe and the second toe.

A further object of this invention is to provide a toe-straightening device made of heavy rubber for en agement between the great and second toes for gently pressing the great toe outwardly into its natural position, thereby providin the proper balance and normal action of the foot. This device is so constructed and arranged that similar devices may be manufactured by the teaching for either the left or right foot, being of a relatively thin formation so that it may be worn under regular stockings and in any type of shoe.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a bunion-easer and toe-straightener device constructed according to an embodiment of my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the device; and

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 55 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l0 designates generally an orthopedic appliance constructed according to an embodiment of this invention for easing the force of the shoes on a bunion and for straightening the great toe. The appliance Ill consists of a longitudinally-curved sheet of resilient material H which is adapted to overlie the great toe joint of a foot, and extends substantially along the length of the joint and partially overlies the adjacent inner edge of the great toe. The resilient sheet ll is curved to a shape substantially similar to the shape of the natural foot at this point. The inner surface of the sheet H is concave inwardly for conforming to the contour of the inner edge of a foot.

For aligning the great toe from a distorted position to its natural position, I have provided a central post, as at [2, which is adapted to be disposed between the great toe --and the second toe. The post l2 will bear on its outer surface against the second toe for pressing the great toe inwardly to its proper aligned position relative to the great toe joint and the foot.

l-Ieretofore in the use of orthopedic appliances of this type, the post l2 and the sheet If have been used independently, and no effort has been made to combine the forces of these two members for the unitary result obtained by the device as set forth herein. In the use of orthopedic appliances of this type heretofore, the proper positioning of the members has been a problem which applicant has overcome by the arrangement and disposition of the elements H and i2 as disclosed herein.

For properl positioning the post or member l2 relative to the sheet I! which overlies the inner surface of the foot, I have provided a pair of resilient upper and lower sheets i l and I5, respectively. The resilient sheets l4 and I5 are connected at their outer edges to the inner edge of the sheet ll and the post i2 is connected between the upper and lower sheets l4 and I5 adjacent their outer edges. The extreme outer edges of the upper and lower sheets is and I5 are adapted to overlie and underlie the second toe. In this manner the proper positioning of the jointcovering sheet H is determined by the position of the post I2 between the great and second toes. The bunion-easing and toe-straightener device of this invention is formed of rubber so that the proper cushion effect of the adjacent joints in the shoe relative to the inner surface of the foot may be properly determined. The toe post I2 is formed of a central rubber cushion member l6 having a sheet covering ll of soft rubber material. The rubber sheets I l I4 and I5 are formed in the same manner with a central elastic rubber portion l8 having a flexible rubber covering 19 on the inner and outer surfaces. As noted in Figure 5, the covering l l for the central post I2 may be formed integral with the coverings l1 and [9 described above.

While the upper and lower sheets I4 and I5 are formed in substantially the same manner, the

lower sheet l5 will be slightly more rigid than the upper resilient sheet Id. In this manner the lower sheet [5 will provide a substantially firm base both for the central post l2, and the sheet I I, which is adapted to overlie the great toe joint. As the upper sheet I4 is more resilient than the lower sheet [5, the upper sheet will tend to pull the great toe outwardly into its normal and natural alignment with the joint.

In the normal. use of the appliance III, the post [2 will be slid between the great and second toes and the sheet ll will be adapted to overlie the inner surface of the foot or the enlarged joint. As the post l2 separates the toesand the sheets I4 and i5 engage on the upper and lower sides thereof, respectively, the toes will be prevented from doubling one over the other, thereby causing soft corns between them, and the great toe will be pressed outwardly to its normal, natural position. As the device I is made of soft rubber having a substantial strength throughout, the device In may be worn underneath normal types of stockings and in any type of shoes. The thickness of the post l2 and the sheets II, M and I may be made of a natural flesh color for use with shoes and stockings where a considerable portion of the foot may be seen. The structure and arrangement of the relative parts of this device provide for the formation of similar devices in various sizes and for the left or the right foot.

I do. not means to confine myself to the exact details of construction herein disclosed, but claim all variations falling within the purview of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An orthopedic device of the kind described comprising a resilient member for engagement between the great and second toes of a wearer, a longitudinally-curved and inwardly-concave member engageable over the great toe joint, and

soft resilient upper and lower connecting members between said resilient member and said concave member, said lower connecting member being substantially more rigid than the upper connecting member for pressing the great toe outwardly into its natural alignment with the great toe joint.

2. An orthopedic device of the kind described comprising a resilient post member for engagement. between the great and. second toes of the wearer, a longitudinally-curved inwardly-concave resilient sheet for engagement over the inner surface of the great toe joint, an upper resilient sheet connecting saidxpost with said first sheet, and a lower resilient sheet connecting said first sheet to the upper end of said post, said lower sheet beingsubstantially more rigid than said upper sheet for pressing the great toe outwardly into its natural alignment with the great toe joint.

3. An orthopedic device comprising a resilient member for engagement between the great and second toes of a foot, a member engageable over the great toe joint, and resilient upper and lower connecting members between said resilient member and said latter member, one of said connecting members having a degree of elasticity different from the other connecting'member for aligning the great toe into its natural. alignment with the great toe joint.

RALPH L. McGLUMPHY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,080,303 Scholl Dec. 2, 1913 2,332,473 Salander Oct. 19, 1943 

